1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display input device including a display portion and an input portion such as a touch panel. The present invention also relates to an image forming apparatus including the display input device, such as a copier, a multifunction peripheral, a printer, or a fax machine.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, image forming apparatuses come installed with a large number of functions. Accordingly, operation procedures for making settings of printing and the like tend to become complicated. To address this, for example, some image forming apparatuses allow setting items or setting values selected through previously-performed setting operation to be registered as an operation history. Then, when the operation history is invoked, for example, a multifunction peripheral enters into a state in which a predetermined setting item is already selected. This may simplify the procedure for the setting. For example, there is known an image forming apparatus that stores an already-performed operation procedure.
For example, there is known an image forming apparatus including: recording means for recording, as history information, a series of an operation flow (operation procedure) performed by a user; invocation means for invoking the operation flow from the history information; execution means for executing the invoked operation flow; suspension means for temporarily suspending the execution of the operation flow by the execution means; changing means for changing the operation flow suspended by the suspension means; and resumption means for causing the execution means to resume the execution of the operation flow changed by the changing means. With this configuration, it is aimed to reduce time and effort required of a user in setting by enabling, when the recorded user operation is invoked and reproduced, a change to be made to that operation.
As described above, in some cases, the operation history is registered so as to simplify setting input that is performed on the image forming apparatus. However, even if the operation history is registered for later invocation, printing or the like is not always performed using the same settings. When the user desires to change a setting value with respect to the operation history, the user needs to separately perform an input of correcting the setting value after invoking the operation history. In addition, in some cases, it is difficult to recognize what setting item is selected in the invoked operation history and what setting value is set for the setting item.
To address this, in some cases, instead of using the operation history, for example, a plurality of setting items such as frequently-used setting items are selected in advance, and a combination of those setting items is registered as one program. For example, when the program is invoked, setting screens for the setting items selected in advance are sequentially displayed. With this configuration, it is possible to spare time and effort required in selecting a desired setting item from among a multitude of setting items. In addition, the setting value can be set arbitrarily in a series of the flow, thereby resulting in flexible setting.
Then, after invoking the program and completing input with respect to the setting screen that comes last in order, the user gives an instruction to execute a job such as copying. After that, based on the setting contents of the program, the job is actually executed. Incidentally, the user may desire to execute a similar job continuously after the executed job for which the setting has been made by invoking the program. In other words, the user may desire to continuously execute a job that has similar setting contents as those of the job executed based on the program. For example, there is a case where the user desires to execute the next job by changing the setting value of only a certain setting item among the setting items included in the program that was invoked immediately before and executed.
However, conventionally, the program is ended once the job has been executed. Accordingly, the user invokes the same program again. Further, the display order of the setting screens in the program is fixed. Thus, when the user desires to perform the setting for the next job, the user needs to set similar setting contents again by repeating the series of the flow from the first setting screen to the last setting screen with regard to the same program. In other words, the user needs to repeat the series of the flow even when the user desires to continuously execute a job having similar setting contents as the job executed based on the program. Accordingly, the user needs to perform the setting having similar contents again, which makes the setting problematically complicated.
Here, in the publicly-known image forming apparatus described above, the series of the operation flow performed by the user is stored. However, in this image forming apparatus, the operation flow is always reproduced from the beginning. Hence, the above-mentioned image forming apparatus cannot eliminate the complicatedness that occurs at the time of resetting, and thus fails to address the problem that, even when a job having similar setting contents as the job executed immediately before based on the program is executed, the user needs to perform the complicated setting again.